


lonely hearts club.

by kaidoripropaganda



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Love Confessions, M/M, Recovery, a gift for my dear sweet vic because we talk about this trio constantly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:22:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26164837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaidoripropaganda/pseuds/kaidoripropaganda
Summary: the survivours of the simulation wake up and begin their slow steps to recovery. while waiting for their classmates to hopefully awake akane, soda and fuyuhiko try to make the most of their time together back in the real world. [ for vic, title taken from the marina song of the same name! ]
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Soda Kazuichi, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Nidai Nekomaru/Owari Akane, brief sondam and soudam just don't wanna tag because it's quite brief
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	lonely hearts club.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [izooleo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/izooleo/gifts).



> a gift for my sweet vic because we talk everyday all day about the series and I am so glad we are best friends. akane/fuyu/soda have our favourite friendship / bond for a reason so I had to write some waking up fic with them + mentions of our fav ships with them 😼
> 
> !! TW: there's vomiting and mentions of violence and scars / blood !!
> 
> ft. my akane redesign bc I just do not like the canon one, let my sports gay heart thrive please danganronpa.

* * * 

_"I think she's starting to wake up."_

Akane heard nothing but a few jumbled voices, both belonging to males she could not quite mask out. 

_What... Is happening._

Her entire brain was fried and finally seeing nothing but white should've made her somewhat excited, she had woken up, this was the future they had promised to create for themselves but instead she panicked. 

_The island. Everyone. Am I even alive?_

_An entire month._

She completely froze upon gently opening her eyelids before screaming in horror, immediately one of the people who had been talking before hand gently grabbed her arms as another body turned off one of the lights. 

"Akane, it's okay, it's okay," the voice shouted over her, she hadn't screamed more than once but it clearly had been loud and horrific enough for the two to panic. 

"You're safe, you're awake, it's okay," the voice said softer this time, the gymnast turned, all of her body and hair seemed to be completely sticky and matted. 

She forced her eyes to peel open before she noticed the familiar face and hair of Hajime, she began to calm down and nodded though her mouth and throat felt so dry she couldn't even speak.

"H...Hajime?" 

Her voice was dry and she could only force those words out before collapsing back into the pod, careful to not hit her head against the glass.

"It's okay, you're the third one to wake up, Soda and I have been awake but only for about twenty minutes," he informed her.

Soda rushed over, immediately taking her other hand, Akane noticed the unfamiliar black hair that Soda was now sporting; it was far more different than the bright pink he had sported during their entire simulation.

The gymnast attempted to push them away, trying to show she could get up on her own accord however that plan failed, the moment they even tried to let her walk once getting her out from the pod her legs seemed to break before her.

Soda winced before acting quick and catching her in his arms, she was much lighter than she had been in the game. Her entire body was frail and her hair was much more curly and matted. 

"See, that's why we didn't wanna let go of you," he hummed, trying to brighten up the mood though Sonia, who had seemed to carry the positive attitude of the group after everyone had passed, hadn't woken up yet.

Neither had Fuyuhiko though they could all assume he would be the last to do so considering he suffered the most physical injuries from those who had survived.

Akane opened her mouth to speak before she finally noticed how different Hajime had looked, most of his appearance had surprisingly stayed the same even after the entire Izuru ideal but his left eye now was a bright red. 

"Your...eyes," she managed to push out as Hajime gave a weak chuckle, holding on to her arm as they tried to walk around the pods together heading over to Sonia next.

"I know, it's weird but I'll get used to it, I atleast have both eyes," he said somberly before Soda followed the two along. The mechanics arm hooked around Akane's waist for extra help as Hajime began to stare at all the technology and machinery in front of them.

"Are we alone?" Akane asked softly to Soda as her head seemed to fall right on to his shoulder. All of her clothing had seemed to stay the same; it was just slightly faded especially the denim jacket she had sported during their time on the island. 

She was shocked her black fishnets hadn't ripped from trying to get up from the pod but her black shorts and sports bra stayed in place though she definitely felt cold compared to Soda and Hajime who seemed comfortable with the temperature.

The Mechanic shook his head at her question, explaining that both Makoto and Kyoko had been right there beside them when they had woken up. 

"They are running back and forth, they'll probably be back soon," he assumed before Hajime nodded in response, agreeing with Soda and adding that they also saw Byakuya somewhere around with them.

Akane closed her eyes, unable to stay focused, her stomach began to growl, she wanted to throw up all over the cold, desolate floor. 

She hadn't eaten in who knew how long, her body looked severely underweight. Akane must've made some kind of movement signifying this because she felt Hajime immediately drop a trash can in front of her as if he could read her mind. 

Soda bent down just in case, the two awkwardly stumbling before Akane finally bent down and began to throw up rapidly. 

"How is it—" 

Makoto and Kyoko stopped right in front of the scene of Akane vomiting, Byakuya joined the two before he stopped right behind them. 

Soda waved before he caught Akane's hair, making sure she didn't get it mixed all together. Kyoko stared intently as the two boys looked away, trying not to look phased by the sight. 

"Get them all some water please, food if possible, there should be some in the next room," Kyoko instructed as Makoto quickly took off. 

"Well, she's awake at least," Byakura observed. 

She had stopped after a few minutes, periodically feeling herself return back to the corner with the trash can, completely confused on how she could be puking so much when she had clearly been starving.

Makoto rushed in with five energy drinks. Kyoko glared at her own partner before he explained that there wasn't any water around and the energy drinks at least had some sugar. 

"There's no food here yet either, I'm trying to be smart," he defended before the woman sighed and gently rubbed his shoulders, it was a valid reasoning. 

"Can't complain," Soda said aloud as Hajime quickly opened the fizzy drink and began to down it, all three did besides Akane who seemed to refuse to touch it. 

"That's out of character for you," Byakuya added before Kyoko walked over to her, the two standing against the wall as the boys awaited for the next person to wake up. 

"Please, just a little bit, you have no idea what your body has been through, I'm sure the taste won't be too pleasant but your body will collapse." 

Akane did not have her usual willpower to fight back, she felt weak and decided to oblige with the request. She started with a few slow slips before gradually working up enough courage to take a giant glup.

"It's not awful," she added with a small shrug, a gentle smile painted across her lips as she looked over to Soda and Hajime who seemed glad she was beginning to at least revert more and more back to her old self.

She finally gained enough strength to take a few steps herself though Kyoko was close behind, she grabbed onto Soda and Hajime before the two smiled and hugged her tightly; perhaps waking up had brought out all the love and support they could harbor. 

They had gone another ten minutes before Sonia began to wake up, the blonde finally opening her eyes. She had a much kinder reaction to being awake than Akane had; Soda and Hajime ran by her side and immediately brought her up and out of the pod before she had even muttered a word.

The princess did nothing but breathe heavily and try to touch her face and outfit, it was as if she still believed they were just simulations and she had simply dreamed up all that had happened to them. 

"Kazuichi?" She finally asked, her voice hoarse and quiet as the man nodded and tried to support her standing. He seemed honoured that she had even remembered her name in the first place.

He nodded, she seemed visibly confused at the change of hair colour but her lips curled into a smile, she immediately weeped on his shoulder. 

"Are they all going to cry or scream? This is getting annoying fast," Byakuya mumbled as Kyoko kicked him in the shin with her heel. 

The blonde cursed to himself quietly before the detective whispered that he deserved it.

"It's all good Miss Sonia, you're awake now," he said, attempting to calm her down though the blonde definitely needed some time to process everything that was going on. 

One minute they were in a simulation, pushing the button to their future and the next minute they were awake as even more frail and weak versions of themselves. 

"It is good to see everyone…" she whispered before she realized that Fuyuhiko had yet to wake up. 

Makoto had run off again, coming back this time with chairs for everyone to sit in, he didn't know why he hadn't done that in the first place however they all seemed beyond thankful for the effort. 

They sat around Fuyuhiko's pod, they all were wondering the same thing as they stared at him; Kyoko answered it before they could even ask.

"He still has the scar and cut across his eye if that's what you all are wondering." 

They sat in silence for a solid minute before Soda tried to break the awkward tension between them all.

"The gang is almost all back together," he whispered as Hajime rolled his eyes though a clear grin could be seen across his face. Soda smiled back and let his arm sling around Hajime's shoulder. 

"Don't laugh at me, it's true, we survived, we deserve some credit." 

Akane stared at her feet, unable to even process everything. 

"Do we?" 

They all looked over at the gymnast, her hands laying across her thighs as she had bent down with a clear frown across her face. 

"We survived but at what cost," she mumbled under her breath. 

Before any of them could even respond, Byakuya ran to the pod beside them, Kyoko standing back as they warned Akane and Sonia that they would be opening the pod soon and they would need to move. 

Akane and Soda stood beside each other, anxiously awaiting the return of Fuyuhiko. The three had seemed to become the closest friends during their last few days in the killing game, they had much more in common than they had thought.

"The trio will be back into full swing," Soda mumbled to Akane's ear as she laughed, she had to admit that it brought some comfort to her life knowing all three of them would be able to recover together. 

The yakuza reacted just about as good as any of them. Kyoko was right, he still had the scar across his eye but nothing much else about his appearance had changed. 

"Good fucking god it is _bright—_ "

Neither had his personality clearly. 

Byakuya dimmed another light, clearly growing tired of the constant demands and requests of these survivour's. 

"Calm down, you're awake," Hajime yelled as Fuyuhiko attempted to immediately jump out of their grasp. Sonia nervously added on that he was far too weak to stand on his own.

He took a deep breath before he sighed and adjusted his eye, he looked around at the room before realizing it was Hajime and Sonia beside him trying to make sure he didn't try and jump ship.

"You guys don't need to help me you know," he said in a much softer tone, Sonia smiled, completely relieved before she insisted that his body was probably the worst one out of the five. 

"What, why?" 

Hajime and Soda exchanged a glance as if they had been doing mental rock, paper, scissors over who should be the one to say it. 

"Your body is the worst because you suffered the most injuries from the survivours, your eye injury carried over and when you involved yourself in the execution you were still stabbed." 

Fuyuhiko stared at Kyoko before backing down and sighing heavily, he frowned. "She's going to take it all on herself." 

Sonia teared up, not wanting to think about their friends still sleeping, "No, do not say that Fuyuhiko please." 

Soda interjected, "Not to mention you also slit your own stomach." 

Fuyuhiko scoffed. 

"So… what about everyone else." 

Kyoko tensed. 

She should've expected the question, especially considering she had been the one to open Pandora's Box—mentioning Peko around Fuyuhiko right after he had just woke up. 

"About that," Kyoko began before she stared at Hajime. 

The reserve course student shook, confused as to why all her attention had been placed on him. 

"Izuru is still a part of you, that means he knows everything about the program and can probably figure out the coding to help them all begin to wake up from their comatose state." 

Hajime wanted to collapse, his red eye seemed to twitch at an instant at the mention of the other name. Soda rubbed his shoulders, trying to keep him from breaking or something similar. 

"So this is all on me?" 

Makoto quickly shook his head, insisting that Byakuya would be here to help them figure out all the coding and what could be done. "We don't expect you to carry the entire operation on your shoulders," the brunette replied. 

"Well, we do, however we will help you for the time being," Byakuya added before explaining that they still had jobs to do.

Akane felt her hands ball into a fist, "Your jobs are more than the dozens of students lying around asleep?" Her voice had finally returned to somewhat of a normal volume, the blonde stared her down.

"We still need to get you resources, need to bring shipments to you so you can exist on the island peacefully and without worry of some kind of crisis," he started before Fuyuhiko seemed to tune out what he was saying.

He walked over to Peko's pod, immediately stealing Hajime's chair and sitting right beside it. He placed his hand on top of the glass and for once in his life prayed for some kind of way to get her out.

_There's so much I couldn't tell you._

"We will help you but you also seem to forget that Izuru's soul is engraved into your friend, trust me when I say that you would much rather have that attempt to code and figure out the problem than me and Makoto." 

Akane stared embarrassed at the floor.

Hajime sighed, he seemed to grow tired of the subject. 

"I believe that we can find the solution especially with Hajime's help," the brunette added over Byakuya to help lighten up the mood and conversation. 

Hajime nodded, accepting his fate.

Even when he had woke up he seemed to have a bored expression across his face, of course some part of him was glad he had survived but he didn't seem to have as much of a reaction compared to the rest.

Soda had sobbed once he opened his eyes, Akane screamed, Sonia cried as well and Fuyuhiko tried to fight back.

"If I can help everyone then I'll do what I can." 

* * *

"How familiar," Sonia spoke as her and Akane had their way back to the cottages, they looked exactly like they did in the game and it made the gymnast's heart race.

Hajime was busy at work with Byakuya trying to code and program the remaining classmates out of their comatose while Kyoko stayed around with them informing them of all the new things at the island.

Makoto had been busy running around bringing supplies, food, clothing, whatever they requested and would need while they stayed on the island recovering. 

The experience was far too much for Akane who seemed to press her head against her own door, not wanting to remember it at all. 

Tears streamed down her face, unable to handle the idea of opening the door to the same place she had spent almost an entire month pretending to live in. 

"Akane…" Sonia whimpered, the princess offering her a hug though the gymnast shook her head, not wanting any kind of affection.

"Sorry, don't wanna be mean, it's just not a good time." 

Sonia smiled.

"I understand, do not worry, would you like to instead explore the beach?" 

Akane shook her head again, determined to at least attempt to be strong and not become a weak shell again.

The princess sighed, giving a curt nod before wishing her the best of luck and walking away, she assumed she would go to the beach like mentioned.

She disappeared.

Akane held her hand on the doorknob before she sighed, she had never felt so weak in her enghre life—she couldn't understand what about this had been affecting her so harshly. 

Everyone had seen her as the brave, courageously blunt girl with nothing but a fighter spirit and desire to eat: everything seemed to be utterly opposite.

Perhaps it was just the fact she had only woken up a few days ago but everything seemed to crash at once, her dreams had consisted of nothing expect the desire that she would stay safe and see her friends. 

_I miss him a lot damnit._

"Fuck me," she whispered before she let her head rest against the cool, wooden door. 

She wasn't sure how long she had been standing against the door frame before she heard two voices call out her name; she turned towards the voices. 

Akane felt a small grin slip across her lips as she noticed Soda and Fuyuhiko walking close to her. "Yo, what are you two doing strolling around?" She asked before they admitted they wanted to take her with them to the beach.

"I just told Sonia no," she responded blunt before Soda scoffed and said they wanted to go to the beach over at the second island, they had gotten Kyoko's permission already to do so.

The two clearly determined to drag her along. 

Akane knew they would keep pleading or drag her by the ear anyway, she sighed and let out a soft, endearing laugh. 

"Fine, fine, drag me there." 

* * * 

They had finally made it to Chandler Beach, they all felt their hearts break as they approached the beach house.

Akane could sense the change in Fuyuhiko's posture, he seemed to immediately slump in the wake of remembering what had happened. 

The gymnast remembered that the sandy shore was often she had trained with Nekomaru, Ibuki often watching and cheering them on.

Neither of them seemed strong enough to deal with the present, they had been still so focused on the past. 

"It's all good, don't even think about it," Soda told them before they looked up at him simultaneously. "I'm serious, I believe in Hajime and the foundation, everyone is gonna come back in one piece to us." 

The three all sat beside each other in the sand, Akane was now regretting the fishnets and athletic shorts as she sat almost a foot deep in sand. 

She couldn't complain, the weather was at a perfect temperature and the wind blew in all of their faces. Akane leaned back, instinctively laying down against the sand as Soda followed her lead with a laugh.

Fuyuhiko sat upright, his finger drawing patterns in the sand; he must've been thinking only about waking their friends up, in his situation Akane couldn't blame him. 

"When do you think they'll wake up?" Soda asked them both, it was ironic since he had been the one to say they shouldn't think about only two minutes ago. 

"You asking us?" Akane questioned before Soda nodded, he said it was more a rhetorical question but he didn't mind trying to theorize.

"You tell us Ultimate Mechanic, I'm just a Yakuza, I don't know jackshit," he muttered before Soda stammered, he didn't exactly know what answer to give that would make anyone happy or certain in the truth. 

"I trust Hajime." 

Akane snickered.

"Of course you do," she added with a teasing voice, Soda immediately sat upright, offended at what that voice entailed. 

"What does that mean?!"

Akane and Fuyuhiko looked right at eachother purely on instinct before they burst into a fit of laughter. 

"Seriously, what did I do wrong," Soda flushed, confused as his newly dyed pink hair now hiding under his old black beanie. 

"Let's talk about Hajime." 

Fuyuhiko stared at the floor, covering his mouth attempting not to laugh once again when Akane spoke up.

"So about your crush and all—" 

Soda screamed, offended. 

"God I did not miss that stupid fucking scream," Fuyuhiko added loudly, annoyed before Akane rubbed her friend's shoulders.

Soda finally gained enough courage to speak.

"Me? Crush?!"

Akane crossed her arms, cocking a brow at her close friend before he seemed to finally snap under her glance. 

"How would you even assume I have a crush, which I _don't_ , on Hajime in the first place?"

Fuyuhiko finally spoke up.

"It's the constant touching, the flushing, the disgusting smiles and glances you two share at every given moment, not to mention t—" 

"Shut up, _shut up_ ," he shrieked.

Akane and Fuyuhiko laughed wildly, the shorter Yakuza seemed to fall right onto the gymnast's boots as the two pointed and teased their other close friend.

"You guys act like you don't have the most obvious crushes on our classmates, why am I the only one getting teased?" 

They both seemed to immediately defend themselves, saying that was completely different. 

"Oh yeah? Fuyuhiko's been in love with Peko since they were children and you and Nekomaru clearly had some kind of romance going on," he volleyed back before their argument began.

Soda and Akane seemed to continue defending themselves but they noticed Fuyuhiko didn't speak much on it; he must've agreed which was strangely out of character.

"No you're right." 

They both looked up, surprised.

"I'm sure she is to you know," Akane added comfortingly, "She defended you at every time she could, she protected you from her own execution, she clearly feels the same way." 

Fuyuhiko shrugged it off, his head resting on his arm as he stared at the shore and sky in front of them. 

"I hope she'll be happy to see me if she wakes up." 

Soda punched his shoulder, the Yakuza's eyes immediately had a flash of sheer aggression before the mechanic apologised for hitting his shoulder on purpose. 

"Listen man, you can't say that, she did everything for you, you gotta have at least some kind of hope she will be open about her feelings." 

Fuyuhiko cursed the moment Akane tried to agree with him, they stood paralyzed in fear seeing the Yakuza angrily hiss at them.

"Sorry…" he whispered upon seeing their expressions. 

"You guys don't understand… You don't understand what our life was like before hand, she's gonna profusely apologise and continue the same mindset my stupid fucking parents brainwashed her into." 

"Who said we need to understand." 

Fuyuhiko looked at Akane who was smiling right at him. "We don't know about that but yet we could tell everything that happened after was because of her. She gave her life for you y'know? That's some powerful stuff." 

Akane glared down at the sand.

"Remember what you told me when we were at the fun house?" The gymnast shivered at the thought but she knew it needed to be said, she continued. 

"You said that I needed to tell Nekomaru how thankful I was, how you wanted nothing more than to talk to Peko and say thank you. That's a whole lot of love even if you say you're some gangster bad boy." 

The Yakuza was stunned into silence. 

Soda, confused, only added on that the same went for Akane; she needed to be open about her own feelings and emotions. 

"Stop it," she flushed, twirling her newly washed hair around her fingertips, she seemed embarrassed that this topic kept being brought up against her.

"Let's all just say we are lovesick, how about that?" Soda finally said aloud, the two agreed apprehensive at the statement though they all knew in some retrospect it was true. 

"Cool, moving on," Fuyuhiko finally said in the midst of the silence before they all laughed in the sand.

It wasn't a perfect recovery but it was a _start_.

* * * 

Hajime's hard work had clearly paid off.

The moment they had heard that him and the members had foundation had programmed a way to safely awake their classmates still in comatose a variety of reactions ensued.

Fuyuhiko was silent; his heart racing, his feet tapping against the floor and his hands shaking. He couldn't believe the idea that Peko would wake up and they would _finally_ get to see each other again.

Sonia gasped and covered her mouth, immediately yelping. The princess's skin glowed and the smile they had been so used to seeing had finally returned.

Soda was glad, expressing it with a clap, congratulating Hajime on a job well done before he realized that mean _everyone_ including Nagito was going to wake up. 

He knew exactly what that would mean for him and Hajime's friendship.

_Shit._

Akane had taken the news the worst, she immediately stood up and excused herself, they all glared utterly confused at the woman they expected to have the loudest and strongest reaction. 

Sonia stood up to go and speak with her but Fuyuhiko quickly whispered a quiet warning against it. 

Hajime sat back down, awkwardly attempting to ignore Akane's poor reaction. He noticed Soda immediately wrap an arm around his shoulder, the two smiled at one another before Hajime spoke up quietly.

"That means I can see Nagito again." 

Fuyuhiko looked up, his eyes immediately darting to Soda, his expression dimmed and he frowned though he quickly nodded and congratulated him once again.

The Yakuza could probably pinpoint the exact moment his heart had broke.

* * *

They had quickly figured out that the order in which their classmates would wake up was completely randomized. 

Logically Hajime had assumed and told everyone it would most likely be in order of who had been killed and executed first meaning theoretically the imposter would have awaken first and Nagito last. 

This was completely thrown out the window when Gundham had awaken first.

They had decided the fair thing to do would be to watch the pods in shifts, in case someone had woken up.

Soda had requested walkie talkies from Makoto so they could keep easy contact in case someone woke up and needed assistance. 

The mechanic later took extra spare parts from the third island and made extra monitors; just in case someone fell asleep while on shift. 

He sat in the room, it was far too quiet though he was focused on another project he had taken up for Akane before noticing one of the pods beeping.

His tools dropped to the floor.

Soda immediately stood up, nervously running near the sight of the beeping before realizing it was Gundham's pod that had decided to open first. 

_Well this order is definitely not right._

He stood back nervous, not sure what to expect from the breeder. 

His familiar bandaged hand gripped the side of the his pod, he seemed to be completely hyperventilating. 

Soda immediately reached over and grabbed his shoulders telling him to calm down. Gundham's eyes widened at the voice, immediately throwing himself away from Soda before the mechanic screamed at him to calm down.

"Gundham stop it, you just woke up!" 

The breeder froze, he held onto his arm tightly, his eyes beginning to return back to their normal state as he opened his mouth.

"Kazuichi?" 

Soda nodded, "Yeah, you're the first one to wake up, clearly it's some kind of random order," he stated before Gundham asked to get out of the pod.

"No you're way too weak dude, you're gonna fall right on the floor." 

Gundham rolled his eyes, "How dare you ever call me such a thing you fiend." 

Soda sighed in unexplainable relief. 

"So you're still the same Gundham we knew." 

The breeder ignored his words, gently attempting to get out of the pod before he completely fell face first into the ground. 

Soda yelled, scolding him like a teacher did to an inappropriate student, "I told you not to try it! We're all weak, especially those who survived executions." 

Gundham waved him away, immediately reaching inside his scarf before he winced, unaware that his four Dark Devas were missing. 

"Where are they?" He exclaimed before Soda shushed him, telling him that they were safe and with Sonia at her cottage. She had been the only one that Gundham would ever trust with the animals, the princess took it as a high level duty.

_"Thank fuck I don't have to do it,"_ Fuyuhiko muttered under his breath while at breakfast the day Sonia had taken it upon herself to care for them in his absence.

"One second, I promised everyone I would tell them when someone woke up," he said before quickly grabbing the walkie talkie and trying to get Hajime's attention. 

_"Everything okay?"_

Soda didn't waste a breath, "Gundham is awake." 

There was silence.

"Hajime—"

_"We'll be right there."_

The mechanic could hear someone's chair immediately fall to the floor and footsteps taking off with a yell, he assumed it was Sonia. 

As they awaited the rest of the classmates, they awkwardly stood in silence, not sure what to do at the moment. 

Gundham finally laughed to himself, adjusting his messed up hair best he could at a moment's notice.

"I believe now is the time to thank you." 

"Thank me?" 

"For all you did to make sure Sonia was safe and alive after my execution. You aren't the degrading pest I believed you to be." 

Before Soda could respond he heard Sonia and Hajime completely leap through the door, the princess in a state of shock. 

"Gundham?"

The breeder felt an irreversible smile appear across his face before the blonde ran into his open arms, immediately she collapsed into his warm embrace. 

Soda hadn't seen Sonia smile like that in a long while, he stepped back so they could have their space, he noticed Akane completely jaw dropped upon seeing Gundham in front of them. 

_"I am so happy you have returned,"_ she said just loud enough for them all to hear as she kept a firm grip across his shoulders, the shorter woman basking in euphoria. 

Soda stood back having already reintroduced himself, he noticed Akane only further and further stood away from him. 

Fuyuhiko and Hajime were more than happy to see a familiar face, the four all talking chipper to their newly awakened classmate. 

They spoke for a few minutes, checking on his condition and his memories of the simulation before he put a hand up; wanting to speak to someone in particular.

"Akane, I believe I must apologise to you," the breeder began as he looked around for the gymnast. They all noticed she was not nearby before Fuyuhiko told her to get away from the door. 

Gundham noticed out of the corner of his eye Akane staring at him with nothing but utter hatred. 

"No." 

Her voice had nothing but unfiltered anger attached to it, Soda immediately tried to calm her down, expecting this reaction. 

" _Akane—_ " 

"No! Don't fucking coddle me," the gymnast yelled before Sonia stared horrified at her friend and fellow survivour. 

"Fuck you," she screamed, feeling her emotions completely rush over any sense of logic she had. 

Soda and Sonia stood in silence, Gundham frowned.

"Akane seriously!" Fuyuhiko yelled back, warning her to calm down. 

"You...You killed him," she shrieked, full of nothing but bitter hatred for the man who stood in front of her. "You didn't just kill him, you destroyed every part of him so he was beyond repair, don't you _dare_ try to apologise to me." 

With her voice on the verge of years she completely sobbed, _"You killed the one person that mattered to me!"_

"Akane seriously, stop it!" Soda yelled back, the gymnast looked at him, feeling betrayed that he would ever defend Gundham over her.

The gymnast ran for the door cursing under her breath, refusing to make eye contact with Gundham, the door slammed on its way out. 

No one knew what to say.

"I believe I should go and speak to her privately." 

They all looked at Gundham with wide eyes, they stared at him as if he was being an absolute fool for wanting to do such a thing. 

"Gundham…" Sonia whispered before he smiled down at her, attempting to convince her that it would be the best idea to let out her anger. 

"Do not fret, I know perhaps it seems like a decision most unwise however, she is right, I did indeed kill him," he replied before they all jumped to his defense explaining that it was either one death or all of them collapsing of starvation.

Gundham rolled his eyes.

"I would just like a word with her, nothing more." 

* * * 

Soda had left Fuyuhiko to his night shift before exiting the hospital, the two exchanging good nights before the Yakuza sat right by Peko's pod, awaiting for her return as always.

The mechanic told the small token she had made for Akane in his hand as he attempted to look for her, Gundham's presence had certainly cheered up everyone, especially Sonia. 

He still had no clue what Gundham wished to thank him for however he didn't question it, now wasn't the time to lash out like Akane had or hold grudges especially as a survivour of the killing game. 

Strolling along the shore he finally found Akane, alone, near the music venue's parking lot. 

"Hey, hey," he said loud enough for her to hear as he stood with his hands behind his back. 

Akane glared up at him before her expression softened, "Hey," she spoke just soft enough for him to hear. The gymnast moved over and allowed him to sit right next to her on the parking spot.

"Did he talk to you?" 

"Yeah, unfortunately." 

Soda sighed.

"Akane, I love you like a sister but you cannot just yell at someone like that, especially someone who was fifteen minutes out of comatose." 

The gymnast reluctantly nodded.

"I know. I was angry." 

"I could tell," Soda laughed before his head fell on her shoulders, utterly exhausted after his shift and Gundham being the first to wake up.

"We talked, he was very quiet and understanding for having so many insults thrown at him," she admitted finally as her eyes locked up at the sky. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, he seemed a little too chill about it but hey, that's just Gundham for you."

Soda remembered suddenly what he had even come to Akane for.

"I made you something, I wanted to deliver it in person," Soda winked as she rolled her eyes completely drained from today.

"Lay it on me." 

He uncovered his clasped hands as he revealed another small, mechanic version of Nekomaru. 

It was almost exact compared to the one he had made her in the simulation expect a decent bit smaller. 

He watched as her eyes suddenly became red, tears began to flow down her cheeks as she stared at it. She hid her face in her denim jacket before she looked up once again.

She looked scared to even touch it.

"Soda…" 

"It's all yours, no stupid excuses this time," he promised the gymnast before she yanked it from his hands immediately holding it to her heart. 

"I know he misses you, he's gonna be glad to see you," Soda laughed imagining how emotional Akane would be compared to Nekomaru who probably wouldn't know how to handle her crying.

"There's no random catch phrases this time so sorry if that dumbs it down a bit," he began before Akane slammed into his body, the woman holding him in a tight hug.

"Thank you Soda…" 

The mechanic smiled, taking in the moment as he hugged her back, he couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"Anytime Owari." 

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed xx


End file.
